260 in 2012 DEVOS - Day 35 - Mark 7: True Cleanliness & 2 Miracles

Wash your hands, don’t pick your nose, brush your teeth, put deodorant on………ever hear these from your mom? Thank the Lord for moms who told us these things – it has probably kept us from many a sickness, or embarrassment! Having good hygiene is important, but we must never confuse it with having a clean heart. These are two totally different things! It is this very issue that Jesus addresses in chapter seven. The Pharisees were more concerned with how they looked (outwardly) than with how they loved (inwardly). Jesus summed it up best: “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." Whenever we place our little “rules” as equal or above God’s Word we get into trouble! The fact is “Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.'" And the stuff that comes from deep down in our heart? Not very pretty: “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.”
The chapter ends with two miracles. First, Jesus sends a demon out of a girl, then He makes a deaf & mute man hear and talk. As I read miracle after miracle that Jesus lovingly and graciously performed, I cant help but believe Jesus is giving repeated evidence that He IS the Messiah Gad, as well as repeated opportunity to believe in Him!
SO WHAT?!
*How’s your “spiritual hygiene?” Let me rephrase it, how’s your heart? If Jesus were to give you & I a spiritual heart examination, what would His diagnosis be? A strong & healthy heart? Or…..…In need of a pacemaker? Quadruple bi-pass? Electrical shock??? Lets ask God to work on our hearts more than our exteriors, because it’s the inside that truly needs cleansing!
*Who is Jesus to you? Repeatedly ,throughout the Bible, Jesus has and is revealing Himself to us as Lord, Messiah, King, Creator, etc…. Do you believe it? I don’t mean in your head, I mean in your heart too – Do you believe it? I pray you do!